John records that they
(the whole earth, Revelation 13:3) worshiped the dragon.
This statement is meant to portray the dragon as more than Jesus. During Jesus’ earthly ministry, numerous persons who witnessed Jesus’ greatness fell at his feet (Matthew 2:11; Matthew 8:2; Matthew 9:18; Matthew 14:33; etc.), but many also did not. As Jesus took the scroll from God’s hand, the twenty-four elders around God’s throne worshiped
the Lamb (Revelation 5:14). What is striking is the imbalance between the numbers of those who worship the dragon versus those who worship the Lamb/Jesus. That the whole earth
worships the dragon is testimony to the natural bent of the fallen human heart to align with the dragon.
4 And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”